8th review meeting of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management
From 17th to 28th March, 2025, ASNR took part in the review meeting of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, which it also chaired through its Commissioner Jean-Luc Lachaume. The meeting, at which 67 countries were represented, is part of a three-yearly peer review process during which each contracting party must report on its national program. It is the only legal instrument of its kind in the world.
Opening session of the review meeting chaired by Jean-Luc Lachaume, ASNR Commissioner, IAEA, March 2025.
- © Dean CalmaFor ASNR, this review meeting was the culmination of a major project involving the Ministry of the Environment, Andra, and nuclear facility operators, which involved the production of a national report and participation in a written question-and-answer exercise with the other contracting parties to the convention.
This meeting was also a special one for France and ASNR, as the Canadian Chair was unable to attend and asked Commissioner Jean-Luc Lachaume to chair the meeting in his capacity as elected Vice-President a few days before the opening session.
Presentation of the French report by Olivier Gupta, IAEA, March 2025.
- © ASNRDuring the first week, the review meeting was mainly devoted to the presentation of national reports, by groups of countries, in eight parallel sessions. A team of advisors organized by ASNR followed the debates and took part in each of these groups, which also included two ASNR employees as official reporter and coordinator per country group.
The French report was presented on Wednesday, 19th March by ASNR Director General Olivier Gupta, with the participation of Andra representatives.
This presentation highlighted the progress made in France in the field of radioactive waste management over the last three years, as well as the challenges ahead.
One best practice and six areas of high performance
Countries in the group identified the following "areas of high performance" for France:
- ASNR's new method for monitoring waste retrieval and packaging projects,
- Andra's construction license application for the Cigéo facility in 2023,
- Continued development of EDF's Technocentre project for recycling very low-level metal waste,
- Setting up an assessment and forecasting system for the nuclear fuel cycle,
- The creation, within the framework of the Steering Committee for Post-Accident Management (Codirpa), of a working group on the management of radioactive waste generated by a nuclear accident,
- Andra's proactive participation in the IAEA's MEREIA initiative on surface disposal sites, with sharing of French experience.
Continued action on the management of low-level, long-lived waste and the management of certain disused sealed sources having no current management solution were also identified as challenges for France.
Lastly, the new public participation initiatives for the Cigéo project were noted as an exemplary "best practice" at the international level. These initiatives include a stakeholder consultation on the scope of the technical appraisal, and the establishment by the HCTISN of an independent committee to monitor all public consultation actions on the Cigéo project.
In addition to these sessions, an open working group chaired by Jean-Luc Lachaume met to advance the Convention's peer review process. The recommendations issued by the group, several of which were initiated by ASNR, were validated in plenary session during the second week.
To conclude the review meeting, which was held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere, Jean-Luc Lachaume presented the summary report of the two weeks of work for approval, obtaining a consensus from all countries represented.
ASNR's involvement in this major international event, praised by its peers, enabled the promotion of French actions and positions in the sector, and reinforced its status as a leading global player in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection.